Immunization clinic back on in Arlington Heights

Low-cost vaccines again available to children

A formerly shuttered Arlington Heights immunization clinic for low-income children will reopen just in time for the back-to-school season, village officials have announced.

The clinic was closed earlier this year due to cuts in state funding.

After a nearly eight-month hiatus, the Community Partnership Immunization Clinic run by the village of Arlington Heights will again host clinic hours from 5 to 7 p.m. on Aug. 12 at village hall, 33 S. Arlington Heights Road, according to the village.

The clinic is available for children who are on Medicaid, are uninsured or those who have lackluster insurance that doesn't cover mandated immunizations.

Parents with eligible children must call the village by Monday, Aug. 5, to reserve vaccinations. The child's updated immunization records must also be sent ahead of time.

Both requirements are new for the program, which has served hundreds of children each year since its inception in 1993, according to Mary Sterrenberg, the supervising nurse in charge of the clinic.

Sterrenberg said the new requirements will help clinic staff members make sure the needed vaccines are in stock.

The price of the vaccines is also doubling, the first fee hike in the history of the program, she said. Each shot will be $10, up from previous price of $5.

If parents miss the August deadline, they can take their children to the next monthly clinic, which will be Sept. 16, Sterrenberg said.

About 80 percent of the children vaccinated there in the past were referred to the clinic in order to get into school, she said.

The Arlington Heights clinic was cut out of the federal Vaccines for Children Program -- which provides the vaccines for free -- in January because of state funding cuts, according to Sabrina Miller, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Previously, Illinois used discretionary federal and state funds to partner with uncertified health departments including the village of Arlington Heights and other providers to increase access to vaccines, Miller said.

When state funds for the program were cut by 20 percent in 2013, the state implemented a new policy that restricted the program to state-certified health departments, Miller said.

In July, the village won "deputization" status, which allowed it to get free vaccines again, Miller said.

For reservations, the village's health department can be reached at (847) 368-5760. Immunization records can be dropped off or mailed to village hall or faxed to (847) 368-5980, according to a village press release.